


chase the flames

by midnightmew



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Introspection, Literal Sleeping Together, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Team Fluff, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 07:06:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18361073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightmew/pseuds/midnightmew
Summary: Hamid takes a step back and notices just how dragon like he has become.'While he was watching over them, he felt a sudden urge of protectiveness surge through him. It was nothing like he had ever felt before, it wasn’t just a thought going through his head but something far deeper than that. Something instinctual.He knew instantly that it was part of him, this was how things were meant to be, and he would rather die than let any damage come to those under his protection.Then the moment passed, and he shook his head a little to himself. Well that was strange, he thought to himself, but it wasn’t really something to dwell upon. They were his friends, they were practically his family at that point, it was totally normal to be fiercely protective over them at this point, what kind of friend would he be if he wasn’t.'





	chase the flames

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Arazsya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arazsya/gifts).



> A treat for Arazsya as part of the Rusty Quill Gaming Exchange, I said to myself I was done with these but when I saw the prompt about the team as Hamid's hoard I couldn't resist! I realise that this has become more Hamid-centric than team-centric but I hope you like it anyway :)

Hamid was slowly taking on more dragon-like characteristics. It had scared him at first, especially when the claws would appear from time to time, completely out of his control, but now that he knew why it was happening, he was slowly beginning to grow used to it.

It seemed to improve any fire magic he did- which was a useful side effect as he found himself making use of fireball increasingly often. But it was also scary, he was used to magic being something one learnt and studied- granted he had never been very good at that- and as long as you did everything right the spell would work out. The sheer power he had behind fire now terrified him, and he was constantly worried about the tenuous control he seemed to have over it, it felt like just one wrong move and his entire world would end up in flames.

The physical changes seemed to be coming on quicker now as well. There was a definite angular-ness to some of his features that might have just been mistaken for maturing had he not known his heritage. When he had gone back to Cairo, his family had all remarked on how much his features had changed. The claws were fast becoming a permanent fixture, he could still get rid of them if he needed, but they tended to stick around when he wasn’t paying attention to them.

Azu had remarked the other day just how warm he was, and he had realised then just how long it had been since he felt cold. When he started travelling with Sasha- and Bertie and Zolf- he had always been the one who had suffered most from the cold, most likely from the temperature difference between Egypt and England.

Now, when anyone in the party was cold, they would go to Hamid and grasp his hands in theirs, always commenting on the warmth he seemed to radiate. He was careful not to scratch them with his claws when they did this, he had to be increasingly mindful about their sharpness.

It wasn’t until Grizzop returned to the party in Rome and they decided to rest for the night that another one of his more dragon-like characteristics made itself present.

‘It’s probably not a great idea to try and go through a rift in space and time on two hours sleep.’ Grizzop said, for having just returned from dealing with the nightmare that was Oscar Wilde, he recognised the need for the party to be well rested before attempting anything big.

‘Yeah, we should probably bed down here, it’s not like there are really hotels in Rome, but I agree, we should probably get some rest.’ Hamid agreed, not particularly looking forward to another night spent on the ground.

The party set up, ready to go to sleep for at least a couple of hours, Hamid agreeing to take the first watch. It was rather uneventful- for Rome that was- and he found himself watching over the rest of them as they slept. There wasn’t much space, so they were all crowded together, Azu wrapped around Eldarian- who seemed far more comfortable than this arrangement than Hamid had suspected she would be- Einstein nestled in a space with Grizzop half on top of him and Sasha with her back to the others but still very much involved in the group hug thing they had going on.

He smiled a little at it, they were all so different while they slept, Sasha letting her guard down, even if it was only a little, was such a rare sight to see. While he was watching over them, he felt a sudden urge of protectiveness surge through him. It was nothing like he had ever felt before, it wasn’t just a thought going through his head but something far deeper than that. Something  _instinctual._

He knew instantly that it was part of him, this was how things were meant to be, and he would rather die than let any damage come to those under his protection.

Then the moment passed, and he shook his head a little to himself.  _Well that was strange,_ he thought to himself, but it wasn’t really something to dwell upon. They were his friends, they were practically his family at that point, it was totally normal to be fiercely protective over them at this point, what kind of friend would he be if he wasn’t.

The intensity of the feeling had faded in his memory, and it was several hours later when he had finished his watch when it came again.

He shook Sasha awake so that she could take her turn on the watch and changed his suit into a pair of pyjamas. Everyone else was still in their normal clothes, minus the armour of course, and he appreciated that the sleeves meant he didn’t have to wear the same clothes over and over.

Hamid had always been more focused on his appearance than the rest of the group, it was just something that mattered to him like daggers were something that mattered to Sasha, but he had realised it was becoming increasingly prominent. Not his clothes, he still cared about them just as much as he always had done, but he was becoming like Sasha, with a newfound penchant for shiny things. He had many piercings on his ears from university, he usually left most of them empty, but recently he had found himself collecting more and more gold jewellery to wear.

He couldn’t believe that it had only just dawned on him now that this was another one of the dragon things, it seemed obvious now, dragons and treasure was the oldest stereotype in the book, but unlike the stories he didn’t have a hoard of treasure to sleep on. He had- oh- it all made sense now. A hoard, although traditionally some form of treasure was what mattered most to the dragon, what they would surround themselves with. And of course, the team was his.

He settled down into the space that Sasha had left for him, feeling the warmth of the others around him. These were the people he loved, his  _hoard,_ and he would protect them with his life.


End file.
